Never Stop Smiling
by loveableturtle
Summary: "So…you're worried that if you let this happen…you'll end up hurt." Nathan asked her. "Define 'this'." "Us." "Ah. Yeah. That's pretty much it." She agreed. "But what if I promised that I wouldn't hurt you?" "I don't think that would change anything." Or the one in which Nathan is a different person after he meets Haley, but Haley is the last person to see that. *One-Shot*


**Um...hi! This is my first ever One Tree Hill fiction, I've been working on it for months now so I hope it's decent! **

**I love Naley, have done ever since I first started watching the show, and I've read so many Naley fics I figured it was about time I wrote one.**

**So here it is!**

**Never Stop Smiling**

"Hi, my name is Haley and I'll be your waitress this evening. What can I get you?" the falsely-cheerful greeting that was by now practically engraved into her brain rolled off Haley James' tongue as she smiled warmly at the customers, purely because her manager was watching. The second he turned away, her face settled into a frown and she rolled her eyes at the people in front of her, deciding to ignore the quizzical frowns and one seriously irritating smirk.

She loved her job, but at times like these, when she was forced to serve the resident jerk of THHS and his groupies, and smile while doing it, she wished she could still be hanging with Lucas and Karen at the little café she practically grew up in. But Karen barely made enough to keep bread on the table, only kept Haley as an employee because she was almost like a daughter to her. And Haley was saving for college now; she needed to earn more, and there was no way she could ask Karen for a raise.

"Haley…do I know you?" he asked, eyebrow raised, and she couldn't help but notice how obnoxiously perfect his features were. Dark, styled hair, gorgeously mysterious eyes…but strangely, she had never found him even the least big attractive. Unlike every other girl in Tree Hill.

"Nope." She lied, tapping her pen against her leg anxiously. She desperately wanted to get out of there, but her manager would kill her if she left before they ordered anything.

"No, I'm sure I do…do you go to THHS?" he asked. She groaned inwardly.

"Yeah, I do."

"I knew it! You're the girl who lets me borrow your notes when I miss History."

"And Geometry, and Social Studies, and English…" she muttered, fighting back another eye-roll. He frowned.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, it doesn't matter. Are you going to order food or not?"

"Yeah, um…what do you want?" he asked, looking at the blonde girl on his left. She was staring at the menu, biting her lip.

"Do you have anything low in carbs and fat that won't make me want to barf?" she asked, voice high and nasally. Haley pretended to look thoughtful for a second, fighting the urge to groan. Loudly.

"Water?" She suggested. The girl, assuming she was serious, frowned.

"Really? Is that all?" she asked, sounding disappointed. Hayley shifted on her feet, resisting the urge to face-palm. Really, was the girl actually this stupid?

"Check the salads menu." She said, pointing to a small box on the side of the menu. The girl smiled gratefully, reading through the options stupidly slowly.

"Okay, how about you?" she asked the other girl.

"I'll have a child's tuna salad." She said, not even looking up from her Blackberry. The other girl said she'd have the same, and Hayley noted it down and then looked back at Nathan.

"And you?"

"Steak and fries. Medium rare." He said, winking at her. She scoffed, wondering why he thought ordering a steak in any way warranted a wink, as she wrote it down and nodded.

"Drinks?"

"Two waters and a vodka and coke." He smiled at her impishly.

"I'm not stupid, Nathan. I know you're sixteen." She muttered, writing down two waters and a coke. He smirked.

"Worth a try." He shrugged, stretching his arms and resting them on the girls' shoulders. The brunette girl, still fixated on her phone, shrugged him off and elbowed him in the side. Hayley frowned, confused, but decided to forget about it.

"Okay, well I'll be back with your drinks shortly." She muttered, and then turned and left.

After a little begging and pleading, she managed to convince Dustin to trade tables with her, so she didn't have to embarrass herself anymore in front of Nathan and those girls. And an extra hour and a half of cleaning tables and mopping floors, unpaid, was definitely worth it.

…At eleven thirty, Haley signed out and left the restaurant, hunching her shoulders and sticking to the edge of the sidewalk as she made her way home. Tree Hill wasn't the roughest neighbourhood, but there was the odd occasion where someone had been attacked in some way late at night, and she'd always been a bit of a worrier.

Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket and she hurriedly pulled it out, a welcome distraction from the threatening silence. It was too early for anything bad to happen, she reasoned, but there was still a little part of her screaming at her to run home.

The message was from Luke, something about their plans to go to the movies that weekend, and she tapped out a reply without thinking. She turned onto a side street, cringing at the darkness ahead. She lived in the middle of nowhere, and to get home had to walk through a few small side-roads with no streetlamps. Usually there would be some kind of light, from windows or something, but not tonight. She was shaking a little and increased her speed, glad that it was dark enough that nobody could see her.

She was halfway down the street when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and a large hand over her mouth, muffling the scream that tore out of her tiny body. She felt her attacker shaking, and briefly wondered why on _earth _he would be laughing before instinct kicked in and she bit down on the hand over her mouth, at the same time kicking backwards.

Her attacker cried out and stumbled backwards, pulling Haley with him, one arm still around her waist. She yelped loudly as they both fell to the ground, pausing momentarily to catch her breath before pushing away from him. She scrambled to her feet and shook herself off, backing away and reaching for her phone, but it wasn't in her pocket.

"Fuck." She muttered quietly, tentatively stepping forwards and glancing around frantically for her phone. She felt her foot connect with something and sighed in relief, reaching down to pick up the phone. She dialled 911 and was about to press 'call' when she actually took a look at her attacker, still curled up in a ball and making pained noises. Realising who it was shocked her enough that she dropped the phone.

"_Nathan?"_ she gasped. He looked up at her from his position on the ground, glaring at her angrily with both hands over his crotch.

"Fuck, that _hurt_."

"It was supposed to hurt! What on Earth? Why did you attack me?"

"It was just a joke! There was no need to go all psycho-ninja on me!" he complained.

"You scared the shit out of me! I thought I was going to die!" she replied, exasperated. He had the decency to look a little guilty, frowning and getting to his feet. Haley took an involuntary step back. He noticed, and sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry, I had no idea you'd be so afraid. Don't cry!" his eyes widened as Haley sobbed loudly and burst into tears, moving to lean against the wall and slide down until she was sitting on the floor with her head in her hands. Nathan watched her, no clue what to do. He wasn't used to crying girls…well, he was, but they were usually crying for different reasons.

"Haley?" his voice was quiet and he sounded apologetic, but it angered her.

"Don't you dare start acting all concerned, you dickhead. Just…just leave me alone. Please." Her anger dissipated and she was left feeling humiliated and a little afraid. Nathan stepped closer to her, then crouched down to look her in the eyes.

"Haley, I really am sorry that I freaked you out so much. It was a stupid thing for me to do and I don't know why I thought it was okay. It was a seriously dickhead move and I'm an idiot. But no matter how much of a jerk I am, I can't let you walk home alone in the dark. Especially not in the state you're in."

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine. We both know you have better things to do than walking me home. I'll be okay, my house isn't too far from here." She shrugged. He scoffed.

"Haley, it's at least another mile to your house." She frowned at him.

"How do you know where my house is?" she asked.

"I live, like, two rows down from you." He replied. She was shocked.

"What? How come I've never seen you?" he shrugged.

"You always leave really early and get home early; I leave late and get back late. Plus, I have a car, so I drive everywhere. Besides, I only moved in a couple months ago." He shrugged. She nodded, satisfied with his answer, and then got to her feet.

"Why did you move?" she asked, for the sake of conversation. As much as she didn't want to talk to this guy, or have anything to do with him, it was a better alternative to silence.

"My dad, mainly, but my mom had a lot to do with it as well."

"So, what, your dad got a new job?" Haley asked, confused by his vague answer. He looked confused for a second, before chuckling and shaking his head.

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant. I live on my own now. I couldn't deal with my parents anymore, so I got emancipated and moved into my own apartment." Haley stopped walking, horrified.

"You live alone? Like, _alone?_" she gasped.

"Yeah. It gets a little lonely sometimes, but it's better than living with my parents." He laughed. She started moving again, still reeling a little.

"Is it though? Is it really better? I mean, no matter what happens they're still your parents. Surely you could have settled your differences?" Nathan scoffed.

"You're friends with Lucas, right? You know what my dad is. He's a total waste-of-space. He's so controlling; my entire life I've barely been able to take a breath without his permission. And he used to hit me, you know? Since I was too young to remember. I grew up thinking it was normal, that it was okay. He stopped, though, as soon as I was big enough to fight back. He never beat me, don't get me wrong. Just the occasional slap when I did something wrong. But it was still wrong." He explained.

"Okay, fair enough, Dan is the worst dad in the world. But what about Deb? I've met her, she seemed lovely…"

"She is, and she's an amazing mom. But she's always been away so much I barely knew her, and even when she was home she never said a word in my defence. And then I found out that she's been having an affair for six years…I just couldn't deal with them anymore, they were slowly driving me insane. So I left."

"Wow. So, basically, things have been pretty shit for you lately." Haley said. Nathan was quiet for a moment, and she was worried she'd pissed him off, but then he started laughing. Like a lot.

"You know, every time I've told someone about this, they've all been all sympathetic, totally kissing my ass. And then there's you; blunt and honest. I have to say, I kinda liked that. It was refreshing." He commented.

"Well, I don't have any reason to kiss your ass. We aren't exactly friends. I don't even like you." She said honestly, although she was beginning to feel like maybe that last part wasn't entirely true. Nathan laughed again.

"True, I suppose. Although…I wouldn't exactly mind it if you did kiss my ass." He said suggestively. Haley's cheeks flamed, and not for the first time that night was grateful for the dark. She reached out and shoved him sideways into the bushes.

"Don't be crude! We were actually having a nice conversation, and then you had to go and be a jerk and ruin it!" she chided him, annoyed. He laughed.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist."

"This is why I don't like you."

"Of course you like me."

"I really don't."

"Yeah, you do."

"No, I don't."

"You do!"

"Nathan, please, get this into your thick skull. I. Don't. Like. You." She said slowly, mouth turned up at the corners in a smile. Nathan smiled back.

"You do like me. Everyone likes me."

"Well I'm not everyone."

"Well you know what, Haley?"

"What, Nathan?"

"I like you." He told her honestly. She smiled softly to herself, hoping he couldn't see that she was blushing.

"Well, you know what, Nathan?"

"What, Haley?"

"I still don't like you. And this is my house."

"Oh. Well…I guess I'll see you later then." Haley could have sworn he almost sounded disappointed, but at which part she wasn't sure. Maybe both. Probably neither.

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks for walking me home, Nathan. Although you did kind of owe me after you almost scared me to death earlier." She joked. He mock-sighed.

"You still aren't over that?"

"Nope. It's going to take a lot for me to forgive you for that."

"Well I guess I'll just have to make it up to you in other ways. Goodnight, Haley."

He was gone before she could ask him what he meant by 'other ways'.

…

Haley shut the front door slowly so as not to make any noise, only to find that her parents were both waiting for her in the kitchen, and they didn't look too happy to see her.

"Haley James, what on Earth are you doing out so late? You had us worried sick! We thought you were dead! Your mother wanted to call the police, but I just about managed to convince her to wait a little. Where have you been?" her father exclaimed, glaring at her, before rushing forwards to wrap his arms around her in a hug. She hugged him back, feeling terrible.

"I'm so sorry, I had to stay behind at work and I totally forgot to let you know."

"Well we've been calling you for the past hour or so, why didn't you answer your phone?" Haley frowned, not knowing the answer to this, but then she remembered dropping it, and the ominous cracking sound it had made when it hit the floor.

"Aw, crap. I dropped it on the way home. I was, erm, surprised by a friend, and I guess I just forgot to pick it up again. I think it was smashed anyway. I'm really sorry." She explained, apologetic. Her dad sighed.

"Okay, well we're glad you're okay. Go get some sleep, it's late and you have school tomorrow. But please, Haley, in future, just give us a call to let us know you'll be late, okay? And try to avoid working this late on a school night."

"Don't worry dad, it was just this once. I promise. Goodnight." She kissed each of her parents on the cheek and then ran upstairs, making a mental note to buy herself a new phone as soon as possible.

She showered, changed, and brushed her teeth in record time before collapsing, exhausted, onto her bed. She was asleep in seconds.

And she definitely didn't dream about Nathan Scott.

…

She woke up early on Monday morning, surprisingly chipper considering she hadn't gotten to sleep until well after midnight, and it was six o'clock and barely light out. The weather looked good, so she decided to be brave and break out the denim shorts and a strappy blue Hollister top that Lucas had bought her the previous summer. Her make-up was, as usual, minimal, and her hair combed and swept into a high ponytail.

Breakfast was a cereal bar and a glass of orange juice, and her mom gave her money for lunch before kissing her on the cheek and telling her to get going before she was late.

As she walked out the front door she made to check her phone, before remembering that she didn't have one anymore.

"Aw crap." She muttered.

The sun was brighter by now and she regretted not bringing her sunglasses or wearing sunscreen. In fact, she was so preoccupied with worrying about getting sunburnt that she didn't notice the car pulling up behind her until the horn honked loudly, making her jump. She turned around, glaring, ready to yell at some dickhead who thought it would be funny to surprise her. Instead she saw Nathan Scott with his head out of the window, beaming at her.

"Hey Haley, want a lift?" he asked, smirking. She frowned, narrowing her eyes.

"What's in it for you?" Nathan faked a look of hurt.

"Nothing! Well, nothing but the pleasure of your company, that is. Besides, I still owe you." He shrugged. Haley pursed her lips, considering. Either she gets a lift with Nathan, and endures ten minutes of his company (which isn't quite as off-putting as it would have been a day ago), or take her chances with the sun and walk the full forty-five minutes plus, risking sunburn and migraine. Shrugging a little, she nodded at Nathan and clambered not-so-gracefully into the back seat of his car. Nathan met her gaze in the rear-view mirror, frowning.

"Why don't you sit up front? I don't bite, Haley, honest." He winked at her and she rolled her eyes, although she did climb into the passenger seat. Nathan watched her and smiled in satisfaction.

"So how come you're so early?" she asked him, realising that they were going to be at school a good half an hour early, of not more. He smiled.

"Well, I figured that if you walk to school it must take you about three quarters of an hour, so you'd have to leave around now. So I thought I'd leave early to see if I can catch you and offer you a ride." He explained. Haley smiled softly, fighting back a blush.

"Really? You actually left half an hour early just so you could give me a lift?"

Now it was Nathan's turn to blush.

"Well, yeah…I figured it was the least I could do, after nearly killing you yesterday." He joked. She laughed, shaking her head.

"Don't be stupid, you didn't nearly kill me…just gave me a bit of a shock."

"Well you were pretty damn shaken up, and I'm willing to bet you didn't get a good night's sleep last night." Actually, he was wrong; she did get a _very_ good night's sleep, dreaming about _him_. But she was hardly going to tell him that. She wasn't even sure how she felt about that. So she nodded noncommittally and leaned her head back against the seat, eyes closed.

"So, how do you feel about getting some breakfast before school?" he asked after a couple of minutes of silence. She smiled widely.

"That sounds perfect, actually. I hate getting to school early." She smiled, relieved. He looked surprised.

"Really? I thought you were, like, a geek?" he asked. She frowned, offended.

"Just because I'm smart doesn't mean I'm a geek, Nathan. I study for tests, but I dislike school as much as the next person and I don't spend all my spare time with my head in my books. I have friends, I go out…but mostly I work." She explained.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to offend you. It's just…I never see you out at clubs or anything. And you're just so damn smart…" she smiled at him, and he relaxed.

"It's fine, really, I get it a lot. And clubs aren't really my scene, plus I don't exactly look twenty-one. I'd never get in, even with a fake ID." She shrugged. Nathan smirked, looking her over quickly. She felt her cheeks flame with embarrassment at his scrutiny.

"Nah, with the right outfit and make-up, you could definitely pass for old enough. And most of the security guard will let you in anyway if you're hot enough, so you'd be fine." Haley felt her face flush bright red at that comment and had to look down at her hands to hide it. Nathan noticed, and smirked.

"Thanks…I think." She wasn't quite sure what the appropriate response to that was, and thankfully was saved from hearing whatever cocky comment he was surely about to come out with as he pulled into the parking lot of the coffee shop and she rushed to get out.

"If you find us a table I'll go order. What do you want?" he asked.

"Just a latte, thanks. I've got some money in my bag, hang on…" she reached for her bag but Nathan stopped her.

"Don't worry about it, I'll pay."

"No, really, I-"

"Haley, I won't take your money from you."

"C'mon Nathan, I can't let you pay for my coffee." She protested. Nathan rolled his eyes.

"It's like, two dollars, Haley. I'm sure I can manage."

"It's three ninety-five, actually. Look, I have the money, just let me-" she pulled a five dollar bill out of her bag and held it out, but Nathan just shook his head.

"Stop it, Haley, you're insulting me. I'm not going to take your money."

"Nathan, please!" Haley insisted. He just rolled his eyes, pushing open the doors to the coffee shop and heading straight for the counter. She followed him and attempted to hand him the money again, but to no avail. Sighing loudly, she leant against the counter and glared at him.

"Haley, come on, stop looking at me like that."

"Just take the money then."

"No!" he half-shouted, exasperated. She huffed loudly and muttered something under her breath. Nathan was about to ask her what she said, when he felt her hand in the back pocket of his jeans. For a second he was incredibly confused, although he wasn't about to protest...until he realised what she was doing.

"Ha!" she pulled away from him, smirking triumphantly. Nathan just raised an eyebrow.

"Nice one, smug bug. But you do realise you just stuck your hand in my back pocket...in front of, like, half your classmates." he pointed out. Haley's eyes widened and she looked around, shocked to see that almost everyone in the coffee shop went to THHS...and they were all staring at her and Nathan.

"Oh God." she gasped, cheeks flaming, as she turned and buried her head in her hands. Nathan chuckled, patting her shoulder mock-comfortingly, before handing the cashier a ten-dollar bill and picking up their drinks.

"Come on Haley, let's go sit down."

"I wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole." she deadpanned. He laughed loudly, and suddenly the silent coffee shop was buzzing with conversation. Haley only blushed harder.

"C'mon, Haley, it's not that embarrassing."

"Nathan, everyone probably thought I was feeling you up or something. God, kill me now." she moaned. He laughed, handing her the Latte and taking a seat at a small table near the entrance.

"Well you wouldn't be the first girl to feel me up in public." he shrugged nonchalantly, sipping his drink.

"I wasn't feeling you up!" she exclaimed loudly, and then cringing as the shop went quiet again. Nathan just laughed and told her to drink her latte.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, before it started to morph from comfortable to awkward. Haley felt like she should say something, but she didn't know what, and everyone seemed to be listening in. Eventually, Nathan seemed to pick up on how she was feeling.

"Do you want to get out of here? We can finish these at school, just hang out for a while until the bell rings." he suggested, leaning towards her over the table so she could hear him without everyone else in the coffee shop hearing too. She nodded, smiling gratefully, and grabbed her bag.

"Everyone is going to be talking about me groping you. They're going to think I'm some kind of desperate little geek or something. They'll all be talking about me for weeks." she said dejectedly. Nathan smirked mischievously.

"Well, we might as well give them something juicy to talk about." Haley opened her mouth to question him, but squealed loudly and leapt forward as she felt his had squeeze her ass, hard.

"Nathan!" she gasped, shocked. He just laughed and grabbed her wrist, pulling her out of the shop and towards his car.

"I just did you a huge favour."

"Oh yeah? How?"

"Well, now they'll be talking about both of us, how we groped each other."

"And how is that better?"

"You won't seem like some desperate slutty geek or whatever it was you said."

"Yes, but still..."

"Admit it, I did you a favour."

"Maybe a little, but still, you groped me. I could press charges for assault!"

"So could I." he backfired. She opened her mouth to retort, but couldn't disagree. Even if she hadn't meant to, she'd done almost the same thing to him.

"Whatever. Just...don't do that again." she muttered half-heartedly. He laughed, unlocking the car and opening her door for her.

"You know you liked it really." he winked. She didn't even bother replying.

...

School was long and tedious and in every class Haley could have sworn she felt eyes boring into her back, and everybody seemed to stare at her. It didn't help that Nathan was one of the most popular guys in school, and known as a player. Everyone seemed convinced that Haley was his latest victim and, honestly, she didn't care as long as they stayed out of her business.

But, of course, they didn't.

"Hey, Haley James, right?" Haley sighed and turned around, bracing herself for some kind of snide comment, or even some kind of prank. Instead she found herself staring at Brooke Davis, head cheerleader and arguably the most popular girl in school.

"Yeah, that's me."

"I'm Brooke, and this is Peyton."

"Hi. Can I help you?" she asked cautiously. Brooke grinned.

"I'm having a party at my place in a couple of weeks, after the big game. I'm assuming you know where my place is, most people do."

"Yeah, I do...what about it?"

"I want you to come!" she said, like it was obvious. Haley's jaw dropped in surprise.

"Seriously? You want me to go to your party?" she asked, shocked. Brooke nodded, smile faltering a little.

"Why is that so surprising?"

"Because we've never spoken to each other before in our lives, maybe?" Haley pointed out. Brooke scoffed.

"Yeah, well, now that you're Nathan Scott's girlfriend, I'm sure we'll get to know each other a lot better, and maybe we can even be frie-" Haley cut her off.

"Whoa, hold up. Nathan's girlfriend? Who said anything about me being his girlfriend?"

"Erm...everyone? It's all over school, Haley. Did you really think your 'grope session' in the coffee shop went unnoticed?"

"It wasn't a grope session! Oh my God!" Haley groaned. Brooke looked disbelieving and Peyton just laughed.

"Right...well, anyway, I hope I'll see you there. And you can bring anyone you want to, don't feel like you have to come alone."

"Will do. Thanks Brooke." Haley smiled warmly, knowing that the brunette was only trying to be nice and didn't deserve Haley's anger. Sighing, Haley turned around and started walking quickly towards her next classroom.

"Haley James!" she heard someone call her name and whirled around, suddenly furious.

"What?" she yelled, before realising it was Lucas.

"Whoa, what's gotten into you Hales? Get out the wrong side of the bed this morning?" he joked, but she could see the concern in his eyes.

"Sorry, Luke, I'm just...I'm freaking out, to be completely honest." she sighed, and she looked so stressed and miserable that Luke wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. She hugged back for a second, before shaking her head and pulling away.

"God, people are going to think I'm some kind of cheat now." she sighed, looking around at their fellow students who were watching them, wide-eyed. Luke just shrugged.

"Whatever. It's not like you and Nathan are actually together, let them think what they like."

"So you've heard the rumours then?" he nodded sadly.

"And seen the video."

"Video? What video?"

"There's a video of you and Nathan in the coffee shop."

"Oh Lord..." she groaned.

"So, pray tell...what were you doing in the coffee shop with Nathan Scott? And why were you groping each other?" he asked, lips quirked in amusement. She glared at him.

"You know that isn't what it was."

"Well, I could tell that you were, like, putting something in his pocket, right?"

"Yeah, money, because he refused to take it." he nodded.

"Right, so that's pretty obvious. But when you two were walking out...that looked pretty deliberate to me."

"Well, yeah, it was...but he was just trying to help me."

"Come again?" Lucas' eyes widened and Haley quickly backtracked.

"No, I mean, I was worried about people thinking I was some kind of desperate slut, so he did...that...to make people think it wasn't one-sided."

"But it is one-sided?"

"Yeah. Wait, no! No, not at all!"

"So it's two-sided?"

"No, it's no-sided!"

"So neither of you like each other like that?"

"Nope, not at all."

"So there's no attraction there?"

"No. Well...no. Definitely not." Lucas nodded, obviously not believing her completely, but he let the matter drop because the bell was ringing and they had to head to their lessons.

...

Haley practically sprinted out of her final lesson as soon as the bell rang, head down, avoiding meeting anybody's gaze. All she wanted was to get home and curl up in a ball and die of embarrassment. This was all Nathan's fault. She never should have accepted the ride. But, somehow, she couldn't really bring herself to be angry with him. It wasn't his fault, not really. Sure, he had refused to take her money, but he didn't make her put the money in his pocket. She blamed herself more than anyone, which was why she didn't give it a second thought before hopping into his car as soon as he pulled up beside her and gestured for her to get in.

"Hey, Haley." he said quietly, testing the waters, not sure if she was angry or not. She smiled briefly at him, letting him know that she wasn't mad.

"Hey. Good day?" she asked, not really caring, just not wanting to drift into an awkward silence.

"Wasn't bad. Apparently I have a girlfriend now." he joked. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, shaking her head.

"Too soon, Nate." she warned.

"Right, sorry. Wait...did you just call me Nate?" he asked, smiling. She nodded, opening her eyes to smile chastely at him.

"Yeah, guess I did."

"Only my friends call me Nate."

"Right, well, sorry, I guess I'll just call you Nathan then. Sheesh." she snapped. He shook his head quickly.

"No! That's not what I meant...I meant, only my friends call me Nate, which means you and I must be friends now, right?"

"I guess. A little. I still don't like you much though." Nathan looked momentarily hurt, before he caught sight of her face in the mirror and noticed the amused smirk.

"Aha, right. Well, I still like you."

"I know."

"Cocky much?"

"You're one to talk."

"Touché..."

They were silent for the rest of the journey, but it was a comfortable silence, and when he pulled up outside her house she smiled and thanked him for the ride, waving as he drove off. She smiled to herself as she unlocked the door and walked inside, kicking off her shoes and running up to her bedroom, spending the night doing homework and watching movies before settling down for an early night.

...

Over the next couple weeks, Haley and Nathan fell into a routine, of sorts. Each day, Haley would leave her house just a couple minutes later than the day before, and each day, Nathan would turn up and offer her a ride. Eventually, they had it timed perfectly, so that they got to school just in time for the bell. People still talked, but most of the rumours had died down and most people seemed to accept that the two of them were just friends, although there were still the people that thought it was more. Brooke and Peyton started smiling at her and saying hi, not only in school but whenever they saw her outside of school as well, and eventually they graduated to inviting her to eat lunch with them and Haley was pleasantly surprised to find that they were both genuinely nice girls and they got on well.

Lucas still teased her about her 'boyfriend', but he knew and accepted that they were simply friends. When she told him about the party, and that she wasn't sure whether to go or not, he told her she was crazy and that he wasn't going to let her not go. Mostly because he wanted to go, since a certain blonde with a name starting with 'P' and ending in 'eyton' that he'd been in love with for years would be there, and he couldn't exactly turn up without her when it was her that had been invited, but he knew she'd regret it if she decided to skip it.

"It's the party of the century, Hales. And it's not like you don't know anyone. You have tons of friends now; you'll only wish you'd been brave enough to go."

So she told Brooke and Peyton that they'd be there, and the three girls spent the week leading up to the party discussing outfits and music, as well as who they were going to hook up with.

"I'm totally going for Jake. He's suddenly gotten way more attractive...and I'm a sucker for a guy with nice eyes." Peyton mused. Haley fought the urge to tell her about Luke's crush, but he'd probably kill her for it.

"Hmm, not me, I want Felix." Brooke commented. Peyton, rolled her eyes, but Haley was surprised.

"I thought you hated Felix?"

"They have this love/hate relationship thing going on. I'm surprised you two haven't screwed already." Peyton remarked. Brooke chuckled and winked.

"Who says we haven't?"

"I've known you long enough to recognise when you've had sex recently and you definitely haven't."

"Well, maybe not, but he'll be mine on Friday, just you wait." they were quiet for a moment, before all bursting into laughter at Brooke's melodramatic tone of voice.

"Oh, Brooke, I forgot to ask; do you mind if I spend the night at your place? I can't go home smelling of alcohol, even if I haven't drunk anything, my parents will flip." Haley asked. Brooke laughed, nodding.

"Of course you can. Just crash anywhere, except my parent's room. But I promise you, Haley James, you will not be sober at the end of the night. I'm going to get you drunk if it's the last thing I do." she warned. Haley laughed nervously, but secretly she was glad. The sensible part of her brain told her no, avoid alcohol, things will only go bad. But the teenager in her told her to go for it, let loose, have a little fun. She'd only be young once, after all.

"Maybe..." she replied. Brooke and Peyton laughed, winking conspiratorially at each other.

...

"Don't you think pupple is a reallyyyyy pretty colour?" Haley slurred, stumbling into Luke and giggling uncontrollably. Luke grabbed her by the wrists and held her up, staring down at her amusedly.

"Pupple?"

"Yeah, pup-hic-ple." she giggled again, interrupted by the occasional hiccup. Lucas shook his head, sitting her down on the couch next to him.

"You're drunk, Haley." she frowned and shook her head, hiccupping again.

"No'm not. Just titsy. No, tipsy. Tipsy." she laughed again, attempting to get to her feet and falling ungracefully back into the couch cushions.

"Come on, Hales, let's find you somewhere to sleep." he said, helping her to her feet. Haley glared at him, shaking her head.

"'M not sleeping! It's a party, Luke!" she slurred. He shook his head.

"You're too drunk to party. You need to get some sleep."

"How's she gonna get any sleep with the noise in here?" Luke jumped a little at Nathan's voice from behind him, but Haley beamed at the boy.

"Nathan! Guess what?"

"What, Haley?"

"I'm titsy!" she exclaimed, moving to step forward and tripping on the edge of the rug, slamming into Nathan's chest. He stumbled back a little but managed to stay upright and hold her steady.

"She needs to get out of here, before she finds more alcohol." Luke said, his amusement gone and replaced with worry as Haley yawned and her knees seemed to give out momentarily. Nathan's firm grip on her arms was the only thing keeping her upright.

"Yeah, I know. Where can she go?" Nathan asked, glancing down at her worriedly.

"She's supposed to be staying here, but she won't get any sleep and she'll end up back down here, and probably drink even more."

"Well, I could take her back to her place..." Luke shook his head.

"No chance, her parent's will absolutely flip out. They're crazy strict about drinking and stuff. I'd take her back to my place, but my mom will be straight on the phone to her parents." Nathan sighed.

"So there's nowhere?"

"I'd suggest Peyton's place, but I think she already left. Unless you know where she lives...?" Nathan shook his head.

"Nope, not a clue."

"Well then..."

"I could take her back to my place. I only live down the road from her, so at least she's close to home if anything happens, but her parents still don't have to know." Nathan suggested. Luke narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Hmm...could I trust you to be a gentleman?"

"Who do you think I am? Haley's my friend, Luke. God, I'm hardly going to take advantage of her. I wouldn't do that to anyone, let alone a friend." Nathan was pissed off. Luke nodded, apologetic.

"Sorry, just had to be sure. Hales is like a sister to me...I can't let her be hurt."

"Well she won't be. I promise."

"Okay, I trust you." Luke smiled, nodding at him to leave.

"One more thing...we're brothers, right?"

"Yeah...why?"

"Well, just 'cause we're brothers, doesn't mean we can't be friends."

"No..."

"So why don't we stop acting like we don't know each other, yeah? I'm getting kind of sick of it. It used to be a necessity, 'cause of Dan, but I've moved out now. So let's just forget about our jerk-ass dad and be friends. Yeah?"

"Yeah, okay. Ignoring each other has gotten kind of old." Nathan nodded, smiling, and then turned around and left, pulling Haley along gently.

...

"Where am I?" Haley mumbled as Nathan undid her seatbelt and helped her out of the car.

"We're at my place, Hales. You're drunk, so you're gonna crash here tonight and I'll take you home tomorrow." he explained. She frowned.

"'M drunk?"

"Yeah."

"So that's why there's four of you." he laughed, shaking his head in amusement. She was more stable now, enough to stand on her own, so he locked the car and grabbed her arm to lead her towards the building.

"I'm on the second floor, so we'll have to go up a few steps, can you manage?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Dunno. Prob'ly." she muttered.

They made their way to his apartment slowly but, thankfully, accident-free.

"Okay, Hales, d'you wanna get a quick shower before bed? That usually helps me sober up a little." he suggested. Haley nodded, yawning.

"Please."

"Okay, come on, I'll turn it on for you, all you've got to do is undress yourself and get in there." he instructed. She nodded, following him into the bathroom. He leant over the tub and pressed a couple buttons, turning it on and setting it to medium heat. When he turned back around, though, he froze.

Haley had apparently decided to undress before he'd actually left the room. Her short pink skin-tight dress was on the floor and she had her hands behind her back, fiddling with the clasp of her strapless bra.

"Erm, Hales...I'm still here." he pointed out, face flushed. She shrugged.

"Don't care." he shook his head and covered his eyes, knowing that no matter how she felt now, she definitely wouldn't be happy with him if she found out he looked at her naked. And he wasn't going to take advantage of her like that. Though seeing her in just her underwear was bad enough...and he was going to need a shower of his own once she was done.

He closed the bathroom door behind him and was about to head down the hall into the kitchen when she called his name.

"What's up Hales?"

"Did you get m'bag?"

"Bag?"

"My overnight bag. With my PJ's in." he winced, berating himself. Why hadn't he thought about that?

"No, sorry, I didn't. I'll find you something of mine to wear, don't worry."

"M'kay thanks."

He made his way down the hall into his bedroom, trying to rid his mind of images of Haley in her underwear, Haley without her underwear, Haley in the shower, Haley naked and in the shower.

Groaning, he threw himself onto the bed face-down. Haley was his friend; he was not supposed to have these thoughts about Haley. And he'd promised Luke that he'd be a gentleman...not that he was planning to do anything, but he felt like a pervert just thinking about her in that way. It wasn't the first time that he'd ever thought about Haley naked, to tell the truth, but it was the first time that he'd almost seen it first hand, and a certain part of his body definitely wasn't letting him forget what he saw.

He lay there until he heard Haley clearing her throat behind him, and he whirled around to see her stood in his doorway, wrapped in a very short towel and looking embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, you never gave me anything to wear…" she said quietly, voice still slurred but she sound significantly less out if it. He inwardly cursed and smiled apologetically, jumping off the bed and hurriedly searching his drawers for his old basketball jersey. He smiled triumphantly as he pulled it out of the drawer and tossed it to her.

"Thanks." She nodded at him and then hurried out of the room, back into the bathroom to get dressed.

When she came out again Nathan was relieved to see that the jersey, despite being ridiculously small for him, was large enough on her to reach halfway down her thighs and cover everything he shouldn't (but desperately wanted to) see.

"Feeling better?" he asked. She nodded, rubbing her eyes and proceeding to stumble forwards and flop facedown onto the bed. The jersey rode up a little, and Nathan caught himself staring, relieved that it was only showing a little thigh. He wasn't sure what he'd do if he saw any more than that.

"C'mon Hales, you should eat something. You haven't eaten since lunchtime."

"M'not hungry…"

"Well you should eat anyway." He said sternly. She sighed melodramatically but dragged herself to her feet anyway and reluctantly followed him into his kitchen, where he opened a cupboard and pulled out a loaf of bread. She made a face behind his back as he slid a couple of slices into the toaster and then turned to face her.

"Water?"

"Please." She nodded. He grabbed a glass and filled it from the tap, handing it to her with a concerned smile. She gulped it down and passed the empty glass back for him to fill up again. He did so, and this time she only drank half before placing it on the counter beside her.

"Thanks. That toast smells so good…I'm starving." She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, smiling. He opened his mouth to remind her about her earlier protests when he suggested food, but figured he could let it slide. She was still pretty drunk, after all.

She grinned when Nathan set the plate down in front of her and ate it much too fast for Nathan's liking…and sure enough, two minutes later, she was running toward the bathroom the empty her stomach down the toilet bowl. Nathan sighed and followed her, finding her hunched over on the floor. He sat down beside her and pulled her hair away from her face with one hand, using the other to rub soothing circles on her back.

"Thanks." She muttered weakly once she was finished, and he just smiled and kissed the top of her head. She blushed, which made him blush also, and they both quickly got to their feet and Haley dropped the lid and flushed the toilet.

"There's a spare toothbrush in the cupboard, and you can use my toothpaste and mouthwash." He informed her, before leaving the bathroom to go get himself ready for bed.

When Haley walked into his bedroom again he had changed the bed sheets and used a spare blanket and pillow to make himself a makeshift bed on the floor. She smiled gratefully at him.

"Thanks, really, but I can take the floor. It's your place."

"Haley, don't even bother. You're having the bed. I even changed the sheets for you." He pouted, making her laugh.

"But-"

"No buts!"

"Alright then, fine, you win. I'll take the bed. But when you wake up with a bad back tomorrow I'll be the first to say 'I told you so'." She pouted at him playfully. He laughed.

"Right, okay, I can live with that. Is there anything else you need?" he asked. She shook her head and yawned, before climbing into bed and sighing loudly.

"Night Nathan." Was the last thing she said. She was asleep before she could hear his reply.

…

"Wakey wakey rise and shine." Haley groaned and buried her head in the pillow.

"Five more minutes mom." She mumbled, half-heartedly.

"Well I'm a lot of things, but I'm definitely nobody's mother." Haley's eyes blinked open and she stared at the face above her, shocked. Then the memories came flooding back to her and she groaned incredibly loudly and, once again, buried her face in the pillow.

"Kill me now."

"I'd rather not…"

"Seriously, please. I honestly want to die. I can't believe what I did. How embarrassing. Oh Lord…did I honestly use the word 'titsy'?"

"More than once, I believe."

"Fuck my life."

"Look on the bright side…you didn't spend twenty minutes holding someone's hair up while they vomited down your toilet." She opened one eye and looked at him sheepishly.

"Sorry about that…does your bathroom still smell?"

"A little. Don't worry, I'll just leave the window open all week and invest in a few bottles of air freshener, should be fine." He shrugged. She smiled a little and sat up, before wincing and clutching her head.

"Aw shit. So this is what it's like to have a hangover."

"Yup. It's a bitch, isn't it?" he looked sympathetic.

"Mm-hm." She rubbed her forehead.

"I'll go get you some aspirin." He said, jumping up and heading out of the room. She rubbed her eyes and glanced at the alarm clock beside his bed.

**11:57**

"Shit!" she exclaimed, glancing around frantically for her phone. Nathan darted back in, concerned.

"What's wrong?"

"It's almost midday! My parents must be freaking out!" she exclaimed, aghast. He smiled and visibly relaxed.

"Don't worry about them. I texted your mom from your phone. Sorry I pretended to be you, but I didn't think she'd like the thought of you being with me. I told her you were spending the day with Brooke and wouldn't be home until evening time. Figured you'd need that long to recover from your hangover." He explained. She sighed with relief and then yawned, wincing as she felt pain shoot through her head. Nathan handed her the glass of water he'd been holding and a bottle of pills, which she took gratefully.

"I've got some bad news…" he said after she'd taken the pills. She laughed dryly.

"Can't be much worse than the pain in my head."

"Your dress from last night was right next to the toilet bowl, and apparently you missed at some point last night. I think it's going to have to be burnt…"

"I don't even care, to be honest. It was too slutty anyway." She shrugged.

"Well, I wouldn't say slutty, exactly…you're too classy to look slutty. You looked hot, honestly, but…it just wasn't you." She smiled at him, quirking and eyebrow questioningly.

"Oh yeah? So what _is _'me' then?" she asked playfully. He thought for a second, taking a seat beside her on the edge of the bed, trying to ignore the fact that his jersey had ridden up so that it only just covered her pants.

"Something a little longer, but not too long…you're not a prude, but I know you don't like to show too much leg. I think it's self-consciousness more than anything. And not skin-tight…that's definitely not your thing. You look great, but you probably feel restricted. And judging by your usual outfit choices, you like patterned clothes more than plain." Nathan's cheeks flamed when he looked at Haley and noticed her staring at him, mouth agape.

"I had no idea you knew me that well…I didn't think guys ever noticed those kinds of things." She looked shocked. Nathan blushed harder and looked down.

"I guess I'm just…observant." He shrugged. They were both silent for a minute or so until Nathan felt a soft hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at Haley and her hand slid across to his neck and up to his cheek.

"Nathan…thanks for looking after me last night. It means a lot to know that you care. And I'm sorry I was so judgemental of you for all these years…maybe if I'd just gotten to know you sooner I would have realised what a great guy you are earlier."

"Don't apologise, Hales. It's not like I ever gave you the opportunity to get to know me. In fact, I guess you could say that the reason we're actually friends now is because I decided to prank the pretty geek I saw walking home alone and almost killed you." He smiled. She laughed, rolling her eyes, and her hand moved from his cheek.

"Once again, you didn't nearly kill me. Just gave me a bit of a fright."

"And honestly, I'm so damn glad that I did." He admitted. She blushed a little, beaming. Their gazes locked and Haley found herself leaning towards him. Realising that he wasn't doing the same thing, she stopped, cheeks burning, and went to move away. But then Nathan's hands were on her neck and his forehead was against her own and she could feel his breath on her face. Her eyelids fluttered closed and she sighed, enjoying the closeness.

"Were you about to kiss me, Haley James?" he asked, and she could practically see the smirk on his face, even with her eyes closed.

"Yes." She admitted, hoping to God that she wouldn't regret being so honest.

"Do you _want _to kiss me?"

"Well, I _did_, obviously…" she said, cautious.

"But you don't anymore?" he sounded hurt. She took a deep breath and decided to throw caution to the wind and be honest, with herself and with Nathan.

"Actually, I do. I've kinda wanted to kiss you for a while now." Her voice shook with nerves. Neither of them moved as the stared into each other's eyes, trying to read each other's thoughts.

"Really? How long is 'a while'?"

"Since the incident in the Café that first day you gave me a lift to school, actually." She blushed a little at the memory, embarrassed by how much she enjoyed remembering it.

"Really? Wow. I've wanted to kiss you for a while as well. In fact, I've wanted to kiss you since you kicked me in the crotch that night." She frowned, unsure as to whether he was joking or not.

"Seems a funny time for you to feel like you want to kiss me…"

"Well, it wasn't what you did, so much as the fact that you did it. I liked that you fought back. A lot of girls would have screamed or been all pathetic and expected some handsome knight to come rescue them. Actually, I was kind of expecting you to be like that. But then you actually fought me, and it made me realise that you're not like most of the girls I know."

"Is that a good thing?"

"That's a great thing." He whispered, and then his lips were on hers and her hands moved from her lap to his hair and she kissed him back with everything she had and it still felt like not enough because she'd had a fair few crushes on a fair few guys over the years, but nothing compared to the things she felt towards Nathan, this stupid, stupid jock with great hair and an even better body who walked, no, careered into her life and sent everything out of whack without so much as a second thought and for some reason she had no desire to ever, ever let him leave it.

She felt him shift to give himself better access to her, and then he was pulling her closer and his lips were on her cheek, her neck, her collarbone. She gasped out loud and he looked up at her through long lashed and smile, nibbling on her skin and making her gasped even louder and flush bright pink.

"Nathan!" she protested half-heartedly.

"Haley…." He sighed in reply. She smiled and wriggled even closer to his body, as he moved his lips back to hers.

"As much as I hate to say it, I think we should stop now Hales. I don't want to get…carried away." He pulled away, frowning. She looked disappointed, but nodded in agreement.

"You're right, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Hales. I just don't want to do anything I would need to apologise for, is all. I wouldn't ever want to make you feel uncomfortable or like I was pushing you in any way…if that right there was all you want, that's all you'll have. If you want, we can forget about all this and go on as friends." Haley shook her head quickly.

"No, definitely not. I don't regret it one bit, honest. But I'm glad you stopped it, there aren't a lot of guys out there that would do that. I'm just glad I found one of the few who would." She smiled, and he shrugged.

"I'm a gentleman." He kissed her forehead and got to his feet, offering a hand to pull her up beside him.

"Where are we going?" she asked as she followed him out of the apartment.

"To get you some clothes…and then anywhere you want."

…

Haley glanced around self-consciously as they walked through the mall. She was worried about seeing people that she knew, or worse, people that Nathan knew, not sure how they would react to their clasped hands and, more incriminating, her outfit. Or lack of outfit.

"Calm down, Hales, you're starting to make me feel like you're embarrassed to be seen with me." Nathan joked, but there was something about his tone that made her think he was almost a little bit serious. She squeezed his hand reassuringly and shook her head.

"Don't be stupid, I would _never_ be ashamed to be seen with you. I'm just worried that people we know will see me dressed like this and jump to conclusions."

"Oh…I suppose it does look quite bad. Let's just go get you some clothes quickly."

"Thanks Nate." She pulled him into the closest clothes store and scanned the racks for something to wear. Blushing furiously, she first picked up a pair of black pants and a matching bra, and then moved on to the clothes rack. She grabbed a tank top and some denim shorts and held them up for his approval, before checking the sizes and following him to the checkout. The busty blonde girl behind the counter smiled flirtily at Nathan, then looked Haley up and down. She scowled a little, obviously jumping to conclusions, and Haley's cheeks flamed.

"Nathan, hurry up." She muttered quietly as he fumbled with his wallet. She could feel the cashier's gaze on her, like it was burning through the thin fabric of Nathan's old jersey.

"Sorry baby." He replied, pulling out a twenty dollar bill and handing it over. The cashier took the money, smiled at him again and took her sweet time counting out the change.

"There you go, hope you have a great day." She said slowly, handing the change back in such a way that her fingers brushed Nathan's and lingered a moment longer than strictly necessary.

"Thanks. Erm, is it alright if Haley dashes into the fitting room to put these on?" he asked, barely even looking at the girl.

"Well, strictly speaking that's against store policy…but I suppose I can let you, just this once." She winked clumsily at Nathan and Haley scoffed, rolling her eyes and speed-walking away from them. They both watched her go, and then the checkout girl turned back to Nathan.

"Hi, I'm Jodie." She introduced herself, leaning over the counter slightly to show off her impressive cleavage. Nathan nodded uncomfortably.

"Nathan."

"Well, Nathan, can I ask you a question?"

"Okay…?"

"What's a guy like you doing with a girl like her?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, surely a guy with your looks could do better than _that_. She looks about twelve, and her _hair-_." She sneered, glancing in the direction of the changing rooms. Nathan glared at her.

"Excuse me? That's my girlfriend you're talking about. And you're pissing me off pretty bad right about now." He spat. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on, you can't be serious."

"Oh I'm serious."

"So you're saying that you'd choose her over someone like me?" she raised her eyebrows, incredulous.

"Yeah, yeah I would. Slut isn't really my type." Jodie's jaw dropped and she stared at him, shocked, as he looked over at Haley, just leaving the fitting rooms, and grinned.

"Come on Hales, let's get out of here. I'm starving." He threw an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head tenderly, making her blush.

"Mm, me too." She muttered in reply. He beamed.

"Good, there's this great little café that does the best coffee you've ever tasted, and the food is great too."

"Sounds perfect." She whispered, kissing him on the cheek and smiling softly to herself.

…

He dropped her home at five thirty, and she waved goodbye enthusiastically and made her way down the garden path into the house.

"Mom, dad, I'm home!" she shouted as she walked in, slinging her bag off to one side and kicking off her converse. She was about to run upstairs when someone cleared their throat from the kitchen and she whirled around.

"Lucas!" she beamed, darting over and throwing her arms around his neck. He hugged her back tightly.

"Hey Hales. How are you?" he asked.

"Great, I'm…what the hell is that?" she shouted, eyes widening in shock as she caught sight of the huge love bite on his neck, half-hidden by his shirt collar. He frowned, bemused, before realising what she was referring to and loudly shushing her.

"Shut it, Hales. You know how nosy your parents are! If they find out about this, they'll tell my mom and she'll kill me!" he whisper-shouted. Haley laughed, rolling her eyes.

"So who was it?" she asked, smirking.

"Peyton Sawyer." He winked at her as he led the way up to her bedroom. Haley's eyes widened and she gasped.

"No way! Seriously? You actually hooked up with _Peyton?" _she gasped, in shock. He nodded, grinning, and threw himself down onto the bed.

"Yeah. It was _amazing. _At first she was all over Jake, but then he got a phone call and it was all very difficult to follow but basically, it was a woman on the other end and he left in a hurry. I think Peyton was kinda disappointed, so I started talking to her to distract her. Then she kissed me, out of the blue, while we were in the middle of discussing our favourite music. She wasn't even drunk, she'd maybe had one beer, but she was kissing me like she meant it. So, obviously, I kissed her back and then we got a little heated and I suddenly felt this pain on the back of my head and I looked up and some guy, obviously wasted, was smirking at us and told us to 'get a room'…so we did." He had a faraway look on his face throughout the whole explanation and Haley couldn't help but feel over the moon that he was finally happy.

"Okay, I don't need to know any of the finer details…but I'm glad it happened, Luke. I know how much you liked her. You deserve to finally get the girl of your dreams." She smiled. Luke hugged her, tightly, and whispered a thank you in her ear. Then he pulled away and hit her arm lightly.

"So do you! I'm sorry, I'm a terrible friend. I haven't let you gush about your love life yet!" he sat back and looked at her expectantly, waiting for a response. She frowned.

"What love life?" she chuckled.

"You know…you and Scott."

"Lucas, you cannot refer to him as 'Scott'."

"Why not?"

"Because 'Scott' could also be used to refer to you, and that could get confusing. Besides, you're brothers. Can't you just get along?" he smiled, shrugging apologetically.

"Well, actually, we did make a bit of a truce at the party. You were there actually. But I wouldn't expect you to remember…you were pretty out of it at the time." He laughed at the memory. The word 'pupple' came to mind. Haley scowled.

"Don't laugh at me. I was drunk."

"That's why you were funny."

"Oh, I hate you." She grumbled.

"So, anyway. What happened with you and Nathan? I want all the juicy details." He winked. She shook her head.

"Oh, you've got it wrong. Nathan and I are just friends. That's it. Nothing more at all." Lucas looked shocked.

"Really? I mean, I know before the party you were nothing…but I figured that spending a night alone together, especially since you'd been drinking, something would have happened."

"No, why would it?"

"Because you're, like, in love with each other." He shrugged, brushing it off, as if it was nothing special and hadn't just said something truly momentous. Haley's jaw dropped at his casual suggestion.

"Wh-what? I-m-we-he's-we're not-what?"

"Why are you so surprised? I figured it was obvious. You're always staring at each other, and when you're not together you're talking about each other, probably wishing you were together."

"You're so wrong, Luke! Nathan has no romantic feelings for me at all!" he rolled his eyes.

"Right…wait. Did you just admit that you have feelings for him?" she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Nowhere to turn. No going back. And she knew she'd have to face this head-on.

"Maybe…okay, yeah. Yeah, I have a lot of feelings for Nathan. Very strong feelings. Can you blame me? He's gorgeous, and the sweetest guy! But there's no way in hell that he has any feelings for me. And even if he did, it's not like I could do anything about it. I'm not his type. He'd get bored of me, and then he'd break my heart and our friendship would be ruined. I can't risk it. Ever."

"Okay, Haley, I'm going to be completely honest with you here. Nathan was always a dick. Before you two became friends, he had no redeeming factors. But since he's known you…it's like he's a different person. He's actually nice to people. He's not a player anymore. And, in case you haven't noticed…he hasn't had a girlfriend for a long time. Almost since you guys became friends." She scoffed.

"He never had girlfriends, though. Just girls he messed around with."

"Yeah, whatever. But he hasn't had any of those, has he?"

"Sure he has."

"Really? Name one." Haley's brow furrowed in concentration, but she couldn't actually remember Nathan having a single relationship with a girl since they became friends. But before, he'd had many. And everyone knew about them.

"Well…maybe he's changed. A little. But that doesn't mean he's in love with me."

"Right. But the way he looks at you, the way he lights up when he sees your face. The way he would drop anything and everything to be there for you if you need it…it might just be me, but it seems pretty obvious. He's head over heels for you, Hales." Haley just shook her head. But she couldn't help but wonder…what if Lucas was right? What if Nathan did have feelings for her?

That would change everything.

…

"Haley, wait up!" Nathan yelled. She sighed loudly, knowing that she couldn't ignore him now without him _knowing_ that he was ignoring him. There was no way she didn't hear him that time, and they both knew it. Slowly, she turned around to face him, a smile plastered on her face. He took one look at her and frowned.

"What's gotten into you?" he looked genuinely concerned as he spoke and she felt her heart melt a little.

"What do you mean? I'm fine!" she protested, but she wasn't fooling anyone.

"But your smile is all weird. There's something wrong…not like you're upset, you're just confused. And it must have something to do with me because you've been avoiding me like the plague all week. C'mon, Hales, you can tell me." He stepped closer and she tried to hide the fact that her heart sped up.

"Wait, did you just say that my smile is all weird? How can a smile be all weird?"

"Well, usually when you smile and me you're all toothy and squinty eyed, like a little kid, and anyone can tell just from looking that you're really happy. But your mouth was barely open and your eyes didn't change at all. And I saw you with Lucas earlier and your smile looked completely normal so I figure it has to be me." He ran a hand through his hair nervously. Haley laughed, and he relaxed a bit, deeming this genuine.

"Nathan, I really cannot believe you get all of that from a smile. Have you been talking to Luke?" she asked, suspicious. He grimaced.

"Hey, we made a truce to be civil. I'm not about to be all 'let's talk about our feelings and have a pillow fight' with the guy."

Haley rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, Nate."

"I'm serious. I can just…tell. I pay attention to you, Haley." He muttered. Her breath caught in her throat. Their gazes met for a moment before she looked away, embarrassed. It was then that she realised that the two of them were alone; completely alone. The hallways were deserted. And with a sinking feeling she realised that she'd been concentrating so hard on Nathan that she hadn't heard the bell ring. Although judging by the look of surprise on his face as he glanced around, he hadn't noticed either.

Suddenly, what he'd said sunk in and she couldn't help but wonder _why._

"Why do you pay attention to me, though? I'm nothing special. I'm just Haley James. I'm not the type of girl that guys like you pay attention to." She said softly, looking down. He sighed loudly, placing a hand on her arm and stepping a little closer to her.

"Haley…is that what this is about? Have you been avoiding me because you realised that I pay attention to you and you're embarrassed, because you don't understand _why?" _he asked, sounding surprised but at the same time, like he had been expecting something like this all the time. She bit her lip, looking up at him and then nodding briefly.

"Yeah, pretty much. I mean…it's scary. Fuck, it's terrifying. I never liked you, you know? Until that night when you almost killed me, I thought you were just another big-headed jock who didn't care about anyone but himself. But then I got to know you, and I realise that you're not. But, at the same time…you are. Because I sure as hell wasn't the only person to see you that way, and most people in this school still do see you as that; another popular jock who doesn't give a shit. And I have to wonder…maybe that's the real you, or maybe it's just a persona you put on for people you don't know. But because of that side of you, I have my reservations, and I'm afraid that if I let you pay all this attention to me, and pay attention to you in return, someday you'll get bored and stop paying me attention and then I'll be alone and ignored."

They were both silent for what felt like hours, but really could have only been a minute or two at most.

"Haley…I think it's safe to say we're not talking about attention anymore." He muttered, and she snorted.

"Yeah, I think so too."

"So…you're worried that if you let this happen…you'll end up hurt"

"Define 'this'."

"Us."

"Ah. Yeah. That's pretty much it." She agreed.

"But what if I promised that I wouldn't hurt you?"

"I don't think that would change anything."

"Okay, Hales…look; I know where you're coming from. I totally understand. But the thing is…you've changed me. Since we've become friends, I've stopped looking at girls as things to play with, but to never let mean anything to me. Well, honestly, I've kind of stopped looking at girls in general, but you get the picture. You've taught me that it's worth spending time to figure people out, get to know them, before deciding whether you like them or not. I know you have your reservations about dating the Nathan Scott that played with girls and discarded them like yesterday's newspaper. But I'm going to be really cheeky and ask that you give the Nathan Scott that can tell when you're upset because your eyes don't change a chance. Because, admittedly, when we first met, it was the former that was intrigued by your beautiful smile that day in the restaurant. But it was the latter that fell in love with that beautiful smile. The latter who fell in love with the way you laugh, the way you play with your hair when you're nervous, the way you'd rather run away from things than risk making anyone unhappy. It was him that fell in love with _you, _Haley James." His voice trailed off until he was whispering the last sentence, barely loud enough for her to hear. But she did hear him.

"You're in love with me?" she breathed, shocked. Well, Lucas had already told her as much, but it was completely different hearing it from the man himself.

"Yeah, I really am. And I have been for a while. When you stayed with me after Brooke's party…fuck, Hales, it was all I could do not to join you in that shower and show you exactly how I felt about you. But you were drunk, and I couldn't take advantage. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life, but I did. Because I love you. And it's hardly like I did a good job at hiding it; I'm surprised you didn't know."

"Lucas said…he told me you were. And that I was in love with you too. But I couldn't believe it."

"Why not?"

"Because things like this only happen in the movies. In real life, the nerdy girl and the popular guy don't get together, don't fall in love, and don't live happily ever after."

"Maybe that's because the nerdy girl is always too afraid of heartbreak to take the chance." He suggested, pointedly. She choked out a short laugh.

"Maybe." She conceded.

"So…where do we stand?" he asked after another minute or so of intense silence. She sighed, looking up to meet his gaze.

"I think…I think that if it's what you want, we can give 'us' a try." She said softly, and he grinned, before stepping forward to kiss her, hard, and let her know just how much it meant to him to hear those words.

"Oh, by the way…" she started, pausing for effect. The almost emotionless expression on her face worried him.

"What, Haley?" he asked. She looked at him blankly for a second longer before her face broke out into a huge smile and she threw her arms around his neck and lay her head on his chest, holding on tightly.

"I love you too." She mumbled into his shirt. And they both spent the rest of the day with ridiculously large smiles on their faces.

…

They went back to Nathan's place after school that day. Haley insisted, despite Nathan's weak protests that he didn't want her to feel like he was pressuring her in any way. He was worried that being alone and in close proximity with her might drive him to so something stupid, but she trusted him completely.

They didn't have sex that night, mostly because Haley had to be home by seven thirty and Nathan refused to rush things. Haley was a little alarmed, considering that when he explained that to her it was only four o'clock, and she may have blurted out a little;

"It takes that _long_?"

After which she blushed furiously, even more so when Nathan explained to her that he meant he didn't want to rush _their relationship _and assured her that, no, it did not take more than three and a half hours.

"Not the first time, anyway." He then proceeded to add, making Haley flush dark red and slap his arm.

Three weeks into their relationship, Haley was sick of Nathan stopping them anytime it got heated. It had gotten to the point where she'd been attempting to slide her hands underneath his shirt and he'd pulled away, shaking his head, and muttering the same old crap about not wanting to make her feel like she had to do anything, and by the time she was finished explaining, _yet again_, that he wasn't making her feel like she _had _to do anything, the mood was gone.

So she decided to take matters into her own hands.

First thing, she went to Brooke and Peyton and, reluctantly, asked them to help her find something 'seductive' to wear. Of course, they were only too willing to comply, and they took her shopping straight after school.

By the time they were done, Haley had made a mental oath to never, _ever _ask Brooke and Peyton for help with _anything_ ever again, but she had to admit she really liked the black lace bra and-dare she say it- _thong _they had eventually picked out. She'd been rather embarrassed when they insisted on entering the changing room to pass judgment, but surprisingly found herself only the slightest bit embarrassed, even when Brooke slapped her butt and told her she had the 'most adorable little ass' and that Nathan would definitely appreciate the view.

Once she arrived home, she checked her phone to find two missed calls and a text from Nathan.

**Come over tonight? I have that zombie chick flick you wanted to see…**** xxx**

She sighed, torn. One the one hand, she had planned to stay in tonight for a very important reason…then again, her very hot boyfriend had bought a DVD that he definitely didn't want to see just for her. And she'd wanted to see Warm Bodies since it was released…eventually she decided to resist the temptation that was Nicholas Hoult and turn him down.

**Sorry, baby, but I'm spending the night at home today…girly night in with my mom. Tomorrow though, I promise **** xxx**

To which he replied;

**Fine, but I bought popcorn and there's no way I'm saving it for you. ;) Joke, love you really, see you tomorrow xxx**

…

Haley sat down beside her mother and handed her a bag of Hershey's kisses (the woman had an addiction), who grinned and thanked her, and went to press play on the movie they were watching. But Haley stopped her.

"Mom, I need…I need to talk to you. It's kind of important." She said seriously. Her mom's face paled and she gasped.

"Oh, Haley, tell me you're not pregnant!" she looked shocked. Haley's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"Oh, God, no. I'm still a virgin, mom." She assured her. At this, her mother looked even more shocked.

"Seriously? You mean you haven't gotten down and dirty with that hunky man of yours?"

Haley winced at her mother's word choice.

"Okay, mom, please don't ever call Nathan my hunky man again, like, ever. And secondly, no, I have not. Actually, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about." She admitted. Her mom frowned apologetically.

"Oh, Haley, look, I know you really like this boy a lot, but if he's pressuring you in any way to do something you're not ready for, then he has to go. You deserve better."

"Oh, God, mom, that's not it either. Actually, it's the opposite, I suppose. I…I want to have sex with him, mom. But he…he always stops and starts going on about how he doesn't want to rush things, or make me feel like I have to, and I just…I'm beginning to feel like he doesn't want me…" she confessed. She wasn't planning on saying that, at all. But it just kind of slipped out.

"Oh, Haley sweetie, I promise you that you have nothing to worry about there. I've seen the way he looks at you; most of the time you're together he'd undressing you with his eyes. There's no way he doesn't want to. I think the reason he won't is exactly what he says it is; he doesn't want you to have any regrets, and he doesn't want to rush it."

Haley growled, frustrated.

"Well, even so, I've told him so many times that I'm ready and I _want _this and he just…I love him, mom, I really do, but sometimes I really hate him."

"Oh, honey…that's exactly how I feel about your father. The two of you are like a married couple…not that I'm suggesting anything. You definitely don't need to get married yet. Not for a long time yet." She said, a little frantically. Ally chuckled.

"Don't worry, mom, I don't want to marry him. Not yet, anyway."

"But you do want to have sex with him." she sighed, and Haley nodded.

"Yeah, I do. I know I'm your little girl and this is probably difficult to hear, but-"

"Haley, I've been waiting for this moment since you were born. Most moms will tell their daughters to wait, to make sure they're sure, blah blah blah, but I know you well enough to know that if you say you're ready, you're definitely ready. Also, a lot of moms will tell their kids that sex isn't all that great…they're liars. Okay, your first time will hurt, but you know that. It's not ridiculously bad, and it's different for everyone, but he knows you're a virgin and he knows it'll hurt you and he's probably extremely nervous about hurting you like that. But after you get past the pain…it's fucking fantastic, Hales. And as much as it pains me to say it, Nathan seems to me like the kind of guy that will really make it _good._ I know it might not be ideal for you, that he's had so much experience, but if you can get past the jealousy it's definitely a positive. I guess my main advice is…just let him know that you love him, and you want this, and he loves you enough that he'll want to do it to make you happy. Oh, and, more importantly, be safe." The last part was delivered with a stern glance, but everything else she was smiling and made Haley feel completely comfortable in what could have ended up a very awkward situation.

"Thanks, mom. I'm glad you're not mad…I was worried you would think it's too soon."

"Well, frankly, I think that you're sensible enough to know when it's right. And as long as you're safe and he makes you feel comfortable and happy, why shouldn't you?" she shrugged, and Haley just had to lean over and hug her mom for being so genuinely amazing.

…

"Haley, stop…" Nathan groaned as Haley slipped a leg between his own and pulled him closer to her. She sighed and pulled away from him slightly, quirking an eyebrow.

"Okay, please, don't do this again. I've told you enough times; you aren't pushing me, I don't feel forced in any way, and frankly I'm beginning to feel like it's _me _pushing _you_, like you don't want to…which is totally fine if you don't, but I get the feeling that that's not the case." She stared at him, a little pissed off.

"Come on Hales, you know that's not the case, not at all. I want you, so bad, but-"

"Fuck, Nathan. Please. I want you too, _so _much. Why can't you see that? I want to have sex with you! I trust you completely, and I love you, and I'm fucking _ready." _She growled, face reddening slightly in anger. He watched her for a moment, as if assessing the situation, and then let out what sounded like a cross between a sigh and a groan before leaning forwards to kiss her, _hard. _

She gasped, shocked, but then she was kissing him back and she rolled onto her back so that he was hovering over her. She slid one hand into his hair and the other to his lower back to pull his hips down onto hers, making him groan loudly and bite her lip.

"Fuck, Haley…" he panted. She smirked, tilting her hips slightly to tease him.

"What?" she replied, a butter-wouldn't-melt expression on her face. He just rolled his eyes and joined their lips again, fumbling with the bottom of her shirt. She arched her back to aid him in removing it and his breathing sped up as he drank in the sight of her naked torso, pale, smooth skin, heaving slightly with her uneven breaths. She blushed as she noticed his intense gaze, fighting the urge to cover herself up. He leant down and kissed her abdomen, just below the navel, and worked his way up her torso until his lips were between her breasts and he followed the line of her bra cups, first the right, then the left, peppering kisses along the sensitive skin before reaching underneath her to unclasp the straps. Before he could pull them down her arms, however, she stopped him. He panicked momentarily; what if he'd pushed her too far? What if she'd changed her mind?

But then she was muttering in his ear: "Hey, keep things even, mister." And he fought the urge to grind into her hand when he felt her fingers undoing his pants. He eagerly helped her pull them off and his own shirt shortly followed. She expected him to go back to her bra then, but he decided to go for her jeans instead and wasted no time at all in pulling it down and off her legs.

He sat up then, and she watched him watch her. His body was beautiful; not too muscly, but hardly soft either, and the slight definitions in his abs far outshone anything she'd seen before in terms of appeal. Her eyes lingered on the straining material of his boxers and then travelled back up to his face, to see him looking her over with just as much lust in his eyes. He gulped and met her gaze.

"Since when do you own underwear like _that_?" he hissed, wide-eyed. She laughed.

"Since I let Brooke and Peyton take me shopping." She replied. He nodded, like this made perfect sense, and then smiled lovingly.

"You're so beautiful, Haley. Underwear like that could make any girl look sexy, but you…you're always beautiful. I love you." He gently lowered himself over her so that he could kiss her again. She smiled nervously.

"I love you too, Nathan."

"I'm sorry, Haley. I know this is going to hurt…"

"It'll only hurt once. And I can't put it off forever."

"I know, but I still hate that it'll hurt."

"Well, then, you'll just have to make me feel _extra _good to make up for it then." She suggested with a wink. Quirking a brow, he nodded his agreement.

"Yes. I guess I will."

And, fuck, he _definitely _did.

**Review? :)**


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